1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-adjusting three-sided toothbrush for simultaneously brushing the sides and ends of the teeth and portions of the gums, and more particularly to a toothbrush that has three brushes independently mounted to a handle which independently adjust to accommodate various tooth sizes and configurations and which effectively clean the teeth and sulcular pockets and massage the gums. This invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such three-sided brushes.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of prior art patents have recognized the desirability of cleaning simultaneously the sides and ends of the teeth. U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,601 issued to Zavagno on Mar. 11, 1952 entitled "Spring Pressed Toothbrush" discloses a toothbrush having bristles fixed conventionally to a handle for brushing the tops or bottoms of a tooth and including a plurality of U-shaped wire members extending through the end of the handle having a pair of brushes fixed to either end of the wire members for brushing the sides of the teeth. The wires are provided to allow for flexure, but may come in contact with parts of the mouth causing an uncomfortable feeling or even injury. Further, the amount of adjustability is limited due to the elastic limit of the springs working over such a short distance.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,407 issued to Deutsch on Sep. 10, 1940 entitled "Toothbrush with Brush-Head Made in Three Parts" discloses a toothbrush having three brush heads with bristles for brushing three sides of the tooth. The bristles on the sides are inclined upwardly. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,093,383 issued to Rudof et al on Sep. 14, 1937 and entitled "Tooth Brush" discloses a toothbrush with a U-shaped head having bristles on each side thereof for simultaneously brushing all sides of the tooth. The side bristles of Rudof are inclined downwardly towards the end bristles. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,380 issued to Ripper, on Feb. 8, 1955 and entitled "Attachment for Toothbrushes" discloses a U-shaped attachment which could be mounted to a conventional toothbrush to allow the toothbrush to clean the top and sides of the teeth simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,820 issued to Dinhofer on Oct. 1, 1957 and entitled "Flexible Brush Head and Means to Retain it in a Predetermined Position" discloses a flexible brush head having inclined bristles which simultaneously brush both sides of the upper teeth and the top side of the lower teeth, and vice versa. U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,479 issued to McGee on Nov. 27, 1962 and entitled "Toothbrushes" discloses a U-shaped toothbrush having bristles on three sides to brush the tops and sides of teeth simultaneously. U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,615 issued to Garcin on Jun. 3, 1941 and entitled "Toothbrush" also discloses a toothbrush head having bristles formed to brush a tooth on three sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,894 issued to Peterson on Sep. 26, 1978 and entitled "Toothbrush for Simultaneous--Surface and Sulcus Cleaning" discloses a toothbrush having a plurality of bristles oriented for cleaning of surface areas of more than one tooth surface and sulcus simultaneously. U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,542 issued to Moshos et al. and entitled "Toothbrush Apparatus" discloses a toothbrush head which is secured to a brush head containing a pair of side brushes for brushing the sides of the tooth.
All of the foregoing prior art toothbrushes have some or all of the following limitations or disadvantages: 1) each of the side and end brushes are not moveable independently of one another, 2) the toothbrushes are bulky and have protrusions or wires which might catch or cause discomfort to areas inside the mouth, 3) they are expensive to manufacture and do not use conventional manufacturing processes and machines, and 4) they have inadequate flexure for teeth of varying configurations. Prior art devices which do not allow for sufficient flexure result in the bristles bending too much causing them to wear out prematurely. Such wear results in inadequate cleaning and damage to gum tissue.